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BMW i8 Production Ending This April, No Direct Replacement Planned

Can you believe it’s been six years since the i8 started production in Leipzig alongside the i3? The plug-in hybrid sports car never sold well, but then again, BMW didn’t develop the three-cylinder model to be a commercial success.
BMW i8 14 photos
Photo: BMW
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More or less the halo of the BMW i family, the i8 story will come to a grinding halt next month. Including the 200 examples of the Ultimate Sophisto Edition, a little more than 20,000 models have been manufactured in these past six years.

This production volume makes the i8 more popular than the Z8 and M1, but as opposed to those two, the plug-in hybrid sports car with a three-cylinder engine bang in the middle doesn’t have the making of a collectible. For some reason or another, BMW describes it as a “bestseller” and a “classic of the future.”

Not particularly powerful nor light enough to make the most out of the powertrain, the i8 does attract the attention and interest of passersby like a magnet in a needle factory. I remember driving the i8 in the urban jungle one day a few years back, and just about everybody was looking at the car in such a way that even a Lamborghini owner would feel a little jealous.

The best thing about sitting behind the wheel of the i8 is that the people are genuinely attracted to the car. In addition to the unconventional design for a BMW, the handling dynamics and sound enhancers make for an enjoyable driving experience. On the other hand, the i8 feels so different from other BMW models that you can’t help but think about it as anything more than an experiment.

Going forward, the first plug-in hybrid from the Bavarian brand will be regarded as the trailblazer that paved the way for the likes of the 330e and 745e sedans as well as a number of crossovers and SUVs with transverse and longitudinal engine layouts. The big question is, will BMW ever come up with a successor?

For the time being, the answer is no. Head of development Klaus Frolich made it clear that neither the i3 or i8 will receive direct replacements, but the Vision M Next Concept can be regarded as an indirect successor. Frohlich also envisions the future of the M brand as plug-in hybrid, translating to 600 horsepower at the very least and e-AWD.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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